By world standards, Oz is not really a busy place and for example if our procedures/practices were introduced into the UK or USA the place would come to a standstill. Must be a message there somewhere.
Agree with you here so this is not having a crack,
BUT it's the staffing that makes some of us busy. As I said in a previous post, when my group combines all of our sectors we are running 7 sectors/frequencies.
Whilst I have the greatest respect for our controllers, there is a culture within that does not exist in other major aviation countries….. I remember an experienced international pilot saying once; Why is it that all over the world you are treated by ATC as a professional until you show yourself to be and idiot, but in Oz, on first contact, one is often treated as an idiot until you show you are a professional?
Seriously mate, this is just so not the case. If a controller gives a bit of lip and it's reported, we are guilty, bit like copping a smack in a game of footy, if you retaliate, you cop the suspension. It's just not worth being a smartarse on the radio anymore.
As is shown by the size of this thread, there is much interest in this subject, however everyone looks at it in a different way, and whilst they do, we will continue to have these discussions. As said previously, there is not much that can be done about it now.
From my point of view, I'm not gonna get all anal on the sequence of what's in the read back, what does irritate the f@ck out of me is when you just
make stuff up and reading back every single detail of a transmission because you don't know what's meant to be read back.